Amid the suspension of funds to the UNRWA, the aid agency is struggling to proceed with its operations across the region. UNRWA spokesperson said that if the funding is not resumed, then it will not be able to continue services across the region including Gaza beyond February.
Major world leaders including United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Italy paused their funding to the aid agency amid allegations of its staff involved in the Hamas attack on October 7.
"If the funding is not resumed, UNRWA will not be able to continue its services and operations across the region, including in Gaza, beyond the end of February," a spokesperson for the agency said.
The European Commission said that it would review wehther it could continue to fund the UNRWA. EU members including Netherlands and Finland also paused its UNRWA funding.
The United Nations' UNRWA is not the only source of humanitarian aid for Palestinians, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said.
In its latest, Berlin and Austria joined other nations in suspending funds for the agency. "We continue to advocate for more humanitarian aid to be provided," the spokesperson told a government press conference in Berlin.
Romania has also suspended its voluntary payments to the UNRWA. "We express our full confidence that the U.N. investigation will clarify the situation as soon as possible...Until the investigation is concluded, the ministry will...not make any new voluntary contributions to UNRWA," said the ministry in its statement.
"The European Commission will determine upcoming funding decisions for UNRWA in light of the very serious allegations," the commission said in a statement. "The Commission will review the matter in light of the outcome of the investigation announced by the UN and the actions it will take."No additional funding for the organisation is currently foreseen until the end of February, the commission said.
Spokesperson Eric Mamer told reporters that the commission will try to balance both the seriousness of the allegations and the dire need for humanitarian aid among Palestinian in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
